Louisiana Injury Lawyers Blog
Picture it: you’re driving along, taking care to comply with the laws and rules of the road when you stop at an intersection. Just a few moments later, a Postal Service letter carrier, who has become distracted, slams into the rear end of your vehicle. Would you know what all of these facts meant for your case and what you needed to do to take your case forward to get the compensation you needed? Make sure your case is handled properly by making sure you have representation from an experienced New Orleans car accident attorney.
- Read more about rear-end collisions.
The situation described above is not entirely hypothetical. A recently settled case from southeast Louisiana, upon which the Houma Record reported, had nearly identical facts. Evelyn was stopped at an intersection in Thibodaux when she was rear-ended. The driver who hit Evelyn’s vehicle was a man named Charles who was driving a U.S. Postal Service vehicle. According to the lawsuit paperwork that Evelyn filed, Charles looked away from the road in the moments immediately before he approached the intersection, and that period of inattention led to the crash.
There are a few facts in this story that are especially vital in terms of addressing the matter properly. One of these is that the vehicle was a U.S. Postal Service vehicle. This means that, in order to win your case and get compensation, you first must sue the federal government in federal court, following the requirements of the Federal Tort Claims Act. (A “tort” is a legal term for several types of legal wrongs that can be addressed in civil court, such as negligence causing personal injuries.)
In Evelyn’s case, she did file in federal court, suing the United States government and following the proper procedures to advance her case. In her lawsuit, Evelyn sought more than $2.2 million in damages. That amount highlights the fact that rear-end collisions are not necessarily mere “fender benders” but can be extremely damaging and inflict major harm.
The fact that Evelyn was rear-ended was also very important. The law generally presumes that, in the absence of special circumstances, a rear driver who crashed into a driver in front of him was at fault in causing the accident. This can be rebutted, but that requires the rear driver to present some proof that demonstrates fault by the front driver, such as stopping short or an absence of brake lights.
If you have been injured in a vehicle accident like a rear-end collision, there are many profoundly important decisions that need to be made in relation to your crash and your ability to obtain compensation. To make sure that you have the advice and advocacy you need, contact the diligent Louisiana car accident attorneys at the Cardone Law Firm. Our team has spent many years providing useful litigation techniques to achieve successful client results.
For your confidential consultation, contact us online or phone Cardone at 504-522-3333.
More Blog Posts:
An Unexpected Disaster: Rear-End Accidents and What You Need to Know, Louisiana Injury Lawyers Blog, April 23, 2018
April Showers Bring…Plenty of Accidents, Louisiana Injury Lawyers Blog, April 23, 2018